Our Fitness Blog

Workout More, Gain Weight...What Is Happening?

Here is a very common question that I have received many times over the years…

Question: “Rick, I am working out more than I ever have before and I try to eat healthy. I am so frustrated because after all of this training, I actually gained 15 pound, despite working out more than ever. How can I actually gain weight when I was working out more than ever?”

So, what is the “Workout 15?” I am sure you heard of the “freshman 15”; a young man/woman goes off to college and all too often, he/she gains 15 pounds during their freshman year of college. The Workout 15, also an all too common scenario, is the individual working out many hours a week, and actually increasing body weight and body fat; gaining 5, 10, 15+ pounds during their endurance training. (NOTE: Always remember, we cannot out work or out train improper nutrition)

Answer: There are a multitude of factors that contribute to the Workout 15. Let's discuss why this may be happening.

Nutrition:

Many athletes engage in high volume/frequency of working out in the hopes that they will decrease their body weight and body fat. As a result, their mindset may still be caught in the “diet mentality”; therefore, they believe that less food and more training is the way to lose weight. In the hopes of losing weight, athletes may avoid eating enough before and during training; their thinking is “why would I consume all of these calories during training when I'm trying to lose weight?” When the body is not being fueled right, athletes may find themselves having uncontrollable food cravings. This can then result in significant overeating and binge eating and many times this will occur later in the day and late at night. This will lead to weight gain.

Take home message: Be sure to fuel the body properly starting immediately upon awakening and every 2.5-3.5 hours throughout the day. This will help to keep the body fueled and you'll keep the fire stoked. Also, be sure to fuel the body during training and avoid the “diet on the bike” mentality. As your training volume increases, be sure that your eating frequency and caloric intake adequately support your training.

Heart Rates:

During workouts, it is critical to train in the proper heart rate zones in order to facilitate fat as your primary fuel source. We want to teach the body to spare glycogen (fuel stored in your muscles and some stored in your liver) and to burn body fat. Too often, athletes have not improved their efficiency, and they train at too high heart rate too often. When we train at too high a heart rate too often, we are not maximizing the body's ability to facilitate fat as our primary fuel source. I realize that for many athletes, training in the lower heart rate zones can warrant extremely slow paces and slow speeds. Here is the reality… When an athlete is moving at a very slow pace/speed in their lower heart rate zones, this simply means that the athlete needs to significantly improve their fitness and efficiency. This is where, we as athletes, have to check our ego at the door.

Take home message: Do not worry about your pace/speed; simply focus on training in your lower heart rate zones. Be sure to check your ego at the door, because in time, you will find your efficiency improving. You will start to notice that your body will go harder, longer, faster at the same or lower heart rates. Not only will you start to notice improvements in efficiency, but you will also start to notice the body composition changes you desire such as decreased body fat and body weight.

Resistance training:

(9Round workouts provide great resistance training!) There still seems to be quite a disconnect when it comes to weight training/resistance training and losing weight/body fat. Many individuals still believe that weight training is not necessary and it will cause them to become “bulky” and increase their body weight. This could not be further from the truth. If you desire a lean physique, weight training is a must. Now, I encourage you to make the weight training intense and vigorous. It does not have to be for a long duration; you can knock out great weight training circuit easily in 30 min. Attack the weight training with great intensity and focus. Why is weight training so important in order for you to achieve your body composition goals? It is the weight training that is going to build lean muscle, help to significantly increase your metabolism and help you reduce body fat and body weight giving you the lean physique you desire.

Take home message: Perform weight training, upper and lower body, at least 2 days per week. Be sure to give your weight training on your schedule the same priority you would your swim, bike and run. Scheduling weight training does not mean “more training.” The key is to adjust your endurance training so that the weight training fits in seamlessly. (Focus on all the resistance training in your 9R workouts: squats, jump squats, dumbbell work, push ups, etc.)

Behavioral Change:

In order to avoid the Workout 15, many times it requires us to make a few behavioral changes. Our mind can be our biggest asset or our biggest limiter. For example, if we have the negative believe that consuming calories during workouts will increase our body weight, then we are right. If we have the negative belief that in order to lose weight we have to work out a lot more and eat a lot less, then we are right. If we have the negative belief that weight training will actually make us “bulky”, then we are right. Changing negative beliefs is a behavior change and it takes time. As we start to change some of our negative beliefs and embrace the changes above, not only will we avoid the Workout 15, but we will be able to find levels of success even higher than we ever thought possible.